


Somebody To Lean On

by porcupinegoldstein



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AOS, AU, Agents of SHIELD, Eventual relationship, F/M, Jemma Simmons Needs a Hug, PTSD, Therapy, Therapy Dog, Thomas is basically her therapist, ish, relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-06-08 09:19:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcupinegoldstein/pseuds/porcupinegoldstein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas Ward is brought into SHIELD as an asset to try and find Grant Ward. Jemma is the first agent that he meets and he can tell that something isn't quite right. Thomas offers to help Jemma with the trauma that his brother has put her through and wants to help her overcome her fear of water. As the two get closer, Jemma realises that Thomas is nothing like his brother at all and eventually ends up falling for him. </p><p>Set after Jemma comes back from being undercover at HYDRA.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on Tumblr RP threads that I have with a Thomas muse under the URL of fcrtiitudo. If Thomas had a fc then he would be Kit Harrington.

Thomas blinked open his eyes when he felt the bright light shining down on him. Letting out a groan, he moved slightly and looked around the white room he was in, unsure of his exact location. Looking over at the door as it opened, he saw a girl walk in carrying a tray with what looked like specialist equipment. She looked very nervous as her eyes met his and she came over to his bed. 

"You're awake," she observed with a small smile. "You will be happy to know that you're not going to be here for long Thomas. I just need to run a vitals check," she told him, gingerly placing a strap around his arm and connecting it to a screen on the tray. 

"How do you know my name?" Thomas asked her. 

"I knew your brother," she answered, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Christian or Grant?"

"Grant."

"Oh," he bit his lip nervously and watched how she very nervously watched the screen. 

"What did he do to you? Uh Miss..."

"Simmons. Jemma Simmons," she spoke softly. "And I'd rather not talk about it."

"It's better to talk. You can move past the trauma," he pointed out, trying to help. 

"If I wanted a therapist, I would have asked for one."

"Want and need are two very different things."

"Okay. I don't _need_ a therapist." 

"Jemma," he reached out for her, causing her to flinch away again. "I can see it in the way you look and act around me that Grant has done something," he kept his eyes on her, full of curiosity but, also a gentleness that Jemma noticed. 

"He turned his back on us. Pretended to be our friend, when he wasn't. We all tried to stop him but, he found me and Fitz. My best friend. He was ordered to kill us," she let out a shaky sigh and removed the strap from his arm. "Me and Fitz hid in this pod but, Grant sent the pod into the ocean. Ninety feet under the sea. I got out okay, but poor Fitz suffered some brain damage and he just isn't the same."

"Shit. I'm sorry Jemma. It's great that you and Fitz are still alive but, you've clearly both suffered."

"Well, I haven't been able to go near water unless it's to drink or shower since, and even when it is to shower then I make sure it's very quick. I went out with one of my friends in a car. Tight enclosed space, that was problem number one. It started to rain, and- well I panicked a little," she explained, eyes to the floor and shifted uncomfortably. 

"And they haven't gotten you a therapist for this?" Thomas asked in disbelief. 

"I told them I didn't need one," she shrugged. "Your vitals are all fine by the way, you can leave," she told him turning away and heading towards the door. 

"Jemma. Wait. Is there a chance that I can stay?" Thomas asked her, pushing himself up from the bed.

"Why would you stay?" Jemma asked, facing away from him. 

"So I can help you overcome you fear of water. I've helped people like that before when I was in the marines," he explained. 

"Why would you help me?" Jemma turned to face the younger Ward, letting her eyes actually look at him. From what she could see, he had lighter eyes than Grant, same dark hair but, longer and more messy. She let her eyes travel to his jaw and noticed the slight stubble and from what she could make out from his loose shirt SHIELD made him wear, he had slight muscle. 

"My brother was the one that hurt you. I owe you something. To show you I'm not like him," he told her and offered a warm smile. 

"Thomas..."

"Call me Tommy."

"Tommy. You really don't have to do that."

"I want to."

"You'll have to talk to Director Coulson. I'll take you to him," Jemma told him with a small smile and led him out of the room in a comfortable silence and straight to Coulson's office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas attempts to help Jemma out with her fear of water, and talks to her calmly about everything else that has gone on. The two grow closer and she ends up liking him a lot more than she ever thought she would, considering that he is Grant's brother.

Tommy sat waiting by the indoor pool at the SHIELD base, dressed in only some simple black trunks and waited for Jemma to show up. Coulson had let him stay as Jemma's therapist, and he was more than willing to help her out with anything that she might need. Which is why he suggested that he help her out with her fear of water. He wanted to get her comfortable again and able to actually go into a swimming pool without panicking at all. 

He hadn't been waiting for very long when Jemma came through the door, a little timidly in a black one-piece swimsuit. She brought her gaze up from the floor and let her eyes land on Tommy's bare chest, taking in the tattoo that he had just below where his heart was of an anchor, before letting her eyes travel down to his quite chiselled abs. If she hadn't been so nervous about the water she would consider him to be very well formed and symmetrical. The type of guys that she would date in the Academy. 

"Hey Jem. You ready to do this?" he asked her, standing up and walking over to her with a kind smile, only getting a nod from Jemma in return. "Fantastic," he took her hands and slowly led her towards the small ramp that led down into the more shallow area of the pool, the area where Jemma would be able to stand with no problem. "We're going to take it one step at a time, and if you get nervous just tell me. Keep looking at me," he told her and slowly got her into the water. 

Jemma nodded, taking a deep breath and followed him into the shallow area of the pool, making sure to keep her eyes fixed on his when what she really wanted to do was look down, but she knew that she shouldn't. If she looked at the water then she would panic and immediately want to get out. She bit her lip slightly when she felt the water around her legs, and just tried to make sure that her eyes were just on Thomas and nobody else.

"You're doing great Jemma. You ready to go a little deeper?" he asked her calmly, his hands still holding hers. 

"Yeah. I'm ready," she answered, voice a little shaky.

"Okay. Let me know if you want to stop," he told her and led her a little deeper- still enough so she could stand but, deeper. 

Jemma followed him, and felt her breath getting a little faster, the deeper that they got. 

"Jemma. Are you okay?" he asked, stopping and looking at her. 

"Fine. I'm fine," she nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I'll be okay. I'm sure that I'll be okay," she told him. 

"Alright. If you're sure," he told her and brought her deeper, lifting her up when it got too deep for her to stand into his arms. "I've got you," he gave her a reassuring smile and she nodded with a small sigh, looking up towards the ceiling. "We can stay like this for a little while, and then we'll go back and get you dried off. Well, you can probably do that yourself."

She tried to fight off the blush that was threatening to make it's way onto her cheeks at his words. She couldn't help but, feel like she was getting more and more attracted to Thomas as she spend time with him. She just wasn't sure if he even felt the same about her.  She was too scared to ask, especially it being so early in their professional relationship after all. 

"Tell me about yourself Jemma," Tommy told her. "To distract yourself," he smiled softly at her. "Just let me know what you were like when you were younger, your parents, where you grew up," he suggested.

"It was just me growing up," she told him. "Me and my parents. They were okay. Average parents I guess. I uh- I grew up in Sheffield, and I was always graduating each school early, so I didn't have any friends," she spoke softly. "Then I went to the Academy, and that's where I met Fitz. He's been my best friend ever since."

"Your best friend?" Thomas raised an eyebrow. 

"That's it. I've never really seen him as anything else, but I know that he feels something else for me," she confessed. 

"Oh. That's rough."

"We still talk," she let him know. "I mean I still want to be his friend but, I never dreamed that we would ever be something else," she shrugged a little. 

"Huh. That's interesting," he spoke. "I hope that you two still remain friends anyway," he told her. 

"Yeah?"

"Yeah of course. Come on, I think that's enough for today, do you want to do this the same time next week?" he asked her. 

"Yeah sure. You'll still be around later though right?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"I can cook you dinner. To thank you for all of this," she suggested. 

"I'd like that. Thanks Jemma."

"No problem Tommy," she answered with a small smile, allowing him to bring her back to the 'shore.' 

 

 

Jemma dried herself off, and spent the rest of the day thinking about what she could cook for Thomas. She looked up a couple of recipes on the internet but, still wasn't quite sure what she could make. She didn't want to do anything too complicated so she looked up a couple of pasta dishes that she might be able to experiment with before settling on one. 

She made her way to the kitchen and started cooking, when she looked behind her and saw that Thomas had come into the kitchen and had taken a seat at the table. 

"I could smell the food so I thought that I would come along," he informed her causing her to nod and give a small smile towards her. 

"Well, it's nearly ready," she told him with a small smile before turning back to her food. "Just a couple of more minutes and then it'll all be ready and we'll be able to eat to our hearts desire," she shrugged a little. 

It didn't take long for Jemma to cook it and once it was all served up, she handed one bowl to Thomas before sitting opposite of him and eating her own meal. 

"Thank you for this Jem," he told her. 

"Hey, it's no problem. You've been helping me out a lot so it's only fair that I return the favour really," she shrugged with a grin on her face and kept eating, trying to keep herself from going too giddy at Thomas being there and him complimenting her food. 

"Yeah. I've decided that because we did the session in the pool today, that you shouldn't come to your therapy session later," he gave a small smile in her direction. "It was kind of like a therapy session anyway. Just in a pool," he shrugged a little. 

"That's fine. I mean, I'll have one tomorrow right?" she looked up at him.

"This coming from the girl that said she didn't need a therapist," he chuckled slightly, earning a small giggle from her.

"Oh hush," she grinned and rolled her eyes slightly. "I said that at the time but, I really do think that it's been helping a lot Tommy. Thank you for actually coming in and helping me with everything. I appreciate it a lot," she smiled softly and just looked down at her pasta, knowing that if she looked over at him then she would just start blushing all over again. 

"I think that you did a good job today Jemma. A really good job," he let her know. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll try a little deeper next week if that's okay with you? Go deeper each week and then when you're okay with me holding you up in the water then maybe you could swim on your own?" he suggested. 

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Good."

"Tommy?"

"Mm?"

"What happens when I'm done with therapy?"

"That's up to you Jemma."

"Think I'll leave it a surprise."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get closer again!

"Alright Jemma! You're doing just fine, keep going," Tommy cheered on from the side of the pool as Jemma managed to swim by herself, quite well and without panicking too much. She came over to the side, resting her arms against the wall and looked up at him with a tiny smile, glad to have someone there that believed in her and thought that she could do all of these things. She had grown quite close to Tommy while he was there, and after having many different times where they ate together, a lot of talks where she got everything off of her chest about how she felt and what she had gone through she thought of Tommy as a friend. A very handsome and caring friend at that. 

"What are we doing after this? Food or are we just gonna do something else?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'm taking you out somewhere but, it's a surprise so don't even think of trying to guess what it is because I'm not going to tell you,"he teased with a grin on his face. 

"Oh come on Tommy!" Jemma frowned and rolled her eyes. "Just give me a clue."

"I will not give you a clue, now come on swim to the ramp and come out of the pool," he told her, following as she swam over to the ramp, stepping out. 

"Well, I will go and get changed and take care of my hair but, I will be right out. I'll meet you outside the pool doors," she told him with a small giggle and went off to get dressed and dry off her hair, styling it so that it looked just right. When she came out and looked over at Tommy he smiled at her, holding out his hand for her to take, leading her to his car. 

* * *

 

They drove for a while, accompanied by the sound of the radio until he parked the car outside of a long building, causing Jemma to raise an eyebrow slightly and look at Tommy in concern. She still had no idea what they were even doing there but, she was curious as to where he had brought her. Thomas got out of the car, opening her door for her and took her into the building and into a room that was full of rows of huge metal cages, each containing a dog. 

"Oh my God! Tommy!" Jemma looked at him with a grin. "You're getting me a dog? What for?" she frowned at him slightly. 

"These are specially trained therapy dogs. They're there to make you feel better if you're down, they'll help you out if you're too upset or tired to do anything and they'll always be there. Go on, take a look at them all and choose one that you want," he nudged her gently with a smile on his face, more than happy to be able to see her there grinning and looking at each and every dog. 

Jemma walked down the hall, looking at each dog until she stopped in front of a huge Saint Bernard, who immediately came over when he saw Jemma, tail wagging and tongue hanging out. She grinned and looked up at the name plaque which read 'Sherlock' before looking back down at the dog who was practically begging for attention from her. Jemma looked over at Tommy with a smile, and he knew that she had made her choice, him asking one of the workers to open up the cage and for them to be able to take Sherlock back with them. 

Once the cage was opened, the dog came straight over to Jemma and licked her hand gently before sitting down next to her and waiting expectantly. Tommy paid the money that was needed, packing up the dog bed and bowls into the car before coming to get Jemma and Sherlock, settling them down and just smiling over at her as she watched the dog happily. He was completely awestruck by the fact that she was happy and that it was him that had brought this happiness. 

"Does Coulson know about this?" Jemma asked, tearing her eyes away from Sherlock to look at Tommy as he drove them back to the base. 

"Yeah. I spoke to him about it and he thinks that it's probably a good idea that you have this. It'll be someone to look after as well as him being able to look after you and make sure that you're okay. I don't think he was expecting you to choose such a big dog though," he chuckled softly and shook his head. "But he wont mind, and I think that you made the right choice in dog."

"Me too," Jemma smiled. "Thank you for bringing me and letting me have him. I can't thank you enough Tommy. I really, really can't," she leaned over in the car and kissed his cheek softly, feeling her heart start beating faster as soon as her lips had touched his skin. No. She couldn't have feelings for Grant Ward's younger brother. That wasn't happening. It couldn't happen. And yet, she felt stronger feelings for him than she had for any other guy. 

"You don't need to thank me Jemma. Just you being happy is enough for me to see," he told her, wanting nothing more than to be able to return the kiss but, alas he was driving and he had no idea if Jemma even felt that way about him. He didn't want to push her into anything, just wanted her to take her time and if she did return the feelings that he had for her then he would wait for her to actually tell him, and if she didn't then that was okay too. He could move on, as long as she was happy. That was all that mattered to him. Jemma being happy, and he would fight against anyone who tried to take that happiness away from her.


End file.
